Heather Lomas

Units 4, 5, & 62 Evaluation

Answering the Brief

Answering the brief is important in any task as the brief is what you have been set and your understanding of the upcoming task. In the brief I stated that the Creative Media department have asked me to create a promotional video for the course so that parents and students can get a full understanding of the course itself and it not mixed with other subjects such as Media. Answering this brief was easy as I instantly knew that I needed to make sure I had information about the course itself and show the students a bit around college also. To begin with I did a walk in with the camera into the creative media department of the college which is a relative distance away from the Media department. I also had the students talking about Creative Media and telling the viewer’s exactly what they thought of the course itself.

Fitness for Purpose

The purpose of creating this Creative Media video was for parents and students to be able to understand the course at its full potential and not get confused between this subject and Media as they both correspond with the same name. I personally think that within the video I think it is perfect when it comes to the purpose as it highlights what you do in creative media and what you can achieve. The purpose of creative media s to be able to use computers to their full potential and gain the experience of programs that you may never have used before including Photoshop and Premiere Elements etc. By interviewing two students also from the creative media subject who study it in great detail and are achieving high grades gives the potential students and their parents a really good insight to the course from a relevant enthusiast.

Target Audience

Target Audience was yet another very important factor to the product I was making. As I was talking about a Creative Media College course based at A level qualification I decided that my video was mainly based at students aged around 16 – 21 and at the age of leaving school. College is the next step for student after school if they are looking to further their education and achieve the best they can in life. Making sure that my video is targeted at this age is important for me. As well as this point I am also making my video parent friendly. I want parents to be able to watch this video also and retrieve information from it that their sons/daughters can get information on the subject also. Making sure that my target audience is happy with the video and understands it at its full potential is the most important benefactor for me at this point of making the video. I felt that throughout making the video I took my target audience into account at all times. Using photos and captions kept my audience happy when watching the video. I also ensured that I kept college colours for the captions using a mix of green and blue on different words. I used a backing track that was released back in 2008 which means the song is only around 6 years old. This means that the track is still around and students watching will know the track instantly.

Technical Qualities

I used many different shots in my video when it came to shooting different parts. When it came to the interviews I wanted to make sure that I had a reasonable view of the student, I didn’t want to cut out any part of their upper body when they were talking to the camera. I made sure they were in

Heather Lomas

the shot at all times. I used a bland blue background to the shots as I didn’t want the attention to come off the student I just wanted the viewer to focus on the main point of that particular shot, the student. In another shot I filmed the college sign at the front gates. I used a tripod so that the camera was in the same place at all times. I then held the shot for a few seconds in the same places facing the sign and then slowly zoomed in to initially show the sign and that we were at the college campus. I then zoomed out and went onto my next shot. The reason I waited a few seconds before moving the shot to zoom in was because when it came to the editing side of the video creation I needed enough time at the beginning and end of shots in order to add effective transitions between them. Within my video I made a slideshow of images around college. So before making this I had to take the photos. When it came to camera angles on the images I had to take into account what exactly I was picturing and why I was doing it. I then had to particularly focus on the specific item and ensure I get the entire thing within the shot. One particular shot was of the quad. I wanted to show the viewers that the college is spacious and there is plenty of room in the summer to relax and enjoy the sun. To get this particular shot I moved to a higher level of the college and took the photo from a college window which shows the entire perimeter of the quad. Another technical quality of the video I created was the sound that I have mentioned below in the resolution point. The sound is important in the video so making sure it all completely works is very important to me.

Resolution

When it came to filming there were a lot of issues with this process. When filming we were given a normal video camera to film the initial scenes with. This was great as we could film as much as we wanted and the quality would be reasonable enough for the video. As I began editing though there were a few issues when it came to the interviews, we filmed a range of interviews so we could each select a certain one that we wanted. All the videos came out perfect when it came to image quality but when it came to hearing the student there were some issues as the volume wasn’t quite loud enough. We changed camera after this to re shoot the scenes to see if it would be any better on a High Definition camera. On a few interviews with a particular student the quality of sound was brilliant, but with another student it wasn’t so good. As we had taken rather a lot of time filming these same interviews over and over again we decided to accept what we had and try and work with it. In Premiere elements is the software that we were using for editing and when it came too it I had to edit the sound as best as I could to hear the student’s voice. When it came to the interview I lowered the music so I could hardly hear it and boosted the student’s voice volume on the properties panel. With everything done I could no longer project the voice any further so I had to go with what I had done and hope for the best. Even now the sound is not brilliant but I had done all I could do. There were a range of photos that I had to import in order to include into my video and these all had to be a good size and resolution. The image quality worked out well for the video which meant I didn’t have to re take them. Also having the pictures come out perfect meant the viewers could see in great detail what the college has to offer.

Production Skills

Having a good set of production skills within this product was important as I needed to do all the correct planning and detailed documents in preparation for the upcoming creation. I made a set of mood boards to start with, the reason I made these was so I knew exactly what fonts and text I was going to use. Within the mood board I put colours to represent the colours I will be using in the

Heather Lomas

video, I also put text down such as ‘Cheadle & Marple Sixth Form College’ to represent that I will be putting it onto my video, as well as the college logo. Next I created storyboards for each different slide. We made 2 storyboards overall with 8 different scenes, the reason we make storyboards is so that we can use them in production to know exactly what we are doing at all times and the next scenes that we will be creating. This is so that we ensure we have every bit of work in our video and any pictures and videos we have created. I think the product was well thought out but when it came to working with the storyboards a few of us went off on our own plan and only used the storyboards for certain scenes. In the future I would prefer to think about my production in more detail and plan the storyboards thoroughly and stick to them.

Workflow & Time Management

The timings of this project varied throughout the weeks that we had to make it. To begin with the initial plan was to spend a few lessons on filming and collecting all the right assets and then the rest to complete any documentation and the creation of the video. The timings in which I completed the project were on target but I was not impressed overall with my performance due to a few technical difficulties that I had as I filmed. The filming side went well and I had planned and documented everything right down to my shot logs and assets table. But when it came to creating the video and piecing everything filmed together I did struggle. Having only used the program Premiere Elements a mere few times I wasn’t sure exactly how to do everything and did need some help when it came to adding transitions and other effects to make my video stand out from the rest. This made the overall length of my production a little longer but only by an hour or so. There were other issues also after I had planned and documented my work. I went onto filming and sorted out all the right clips that I wanted and managed to use them in my video. There were a few technical issues though when it came to the overall putting together of the product. A few of our clips did not come out too well on the computer meaning we had to film them again many times over. With this it slowed us down a bit and we were unable to focus our lesson particularly on the piecing together of the video. With all this taken into account the product was still produced in time and it came out well.

Feedback

Feedback is yet another very important factor in a production like this. By collecting feedback I can see what I have done well from the overall product and also what I could improve on. I created a questionnaire to hand out to many different members of the class (not immediate friends) to see what they thought of the product and get their very own thoughts on what I could improve on. The questions that I asked and the answers I was given by students were;

1. What is your initial thought of the video when you have viewed it?“I enjoyed it. I liked how the start goes walking into college which is a particularly good feature that I never thought about using.”

2. Do you think the backing track is of a reasonable volume?“The backing track was of a reasonable volume there was only an issue with one of the interviews, I couldn’t really hear it.”

3. When it comes to the interviews, has enough information been given by each student?“I’d say some more information could have been put in, maybe a bit more about the tutors, but from you have already put in there is a reasonable amount and it is of a good length before getting bored.”

Heather Lomas

4. Would you prefer to see more images or less?“The images were of a right amount. I didn’t feel that there were too many or too little.”

5. Did you think the video was smooth running?“Yes, to begin with no because the walk in is a bit bouncy but the rest was good and stable when filming. All the transitions added worked well which made each scene smoother.”

6. I added in many Transitions between each scene, did you notice these?“Yes I did, they were a great feature.”

7. Do you think the worked well with the video?“Yes, they made the video smoother and consistent.”

8. If I were too re-make the video, would there be anything you suggest I changed or did differently?

“When it comes to editing I would suggest that changing the volume of the music to the interviews. As I mentioned in the first question the interviewee needs to be louder so maybe find someone who can project their voice more.”

From the questionnaire above I got a range of feedback. I chose the most positive comments with some criticism. A few people commented on the questionnaire with ‘Yes’ & ‘No’ answers so it was difficult to make anything of it. From the feedback I got off people who were willing to comment I put them above. As I originally said in my Resolution point that there some issues with a particular student talking too quietly for me to hear through the microphone on the camera. We tried everything we could but coming down to it he was just not projecting his voice loud enough. As I didn’t have much more time left I had to go with what I had but I did include another interview which you can hear fine as she has projected her voice. The overall comments from above were positive and I was happy with the range of feedback I got from students who saw my video.

I then went and saw my client to show him the finished product. As he was the most important person in this project I needed and valued his opinion. He mentioned mainly about the images within the video. He stated that with the images I could have taken them at a busier time within the college, say a lunchtime because in the photos I already had they were sparse when it came to students. I thought showing the refectory and other parts of the college such as the hub when there were no students would show it at its full potential but my client said otherwise. Apart from that and my interview that was rather quiet he was impressed with the transitions and other features I had included. He also stated that he liked my slideshow effect when it came to the images.

Constraints

The constraints were easy to stick too. There were a range of constraints that we were told to stick too and understood before creating the video. Creating the video had to be private and confidential which was 100% stuck too as the video has not been seen by anyone apart from myself and will not be until the permission is granted. Another factor to include was the racism part to any creation to represent a college. I mentioned that I would not discriminate against any religion or gender throughout the video. I continued to film and take photos around college as I would normally do. I did not wait for anything to change in college as I wanted new students and parents to see the college in its everyday life and to make it out to be something it isn’t. Many different people attend

Heather Lomas

this college and as part of the college policy we do not discriminate against any religion and follow every rule of every religion depending on what students we have in the college. I didn’t outline this in the video as it was about Creative Media but I didn’t make any attempt to discriminate against these facts.

Management

The management side to any production is very important. To begin with we were all based in a group to collect assets, film selected parts and put the planning documents together. It was only when we were making the video that we were allowed to branch off and go our own way. I struggled with dealing with the fact we were in a group as my team members were not always in lessons so it was difficult for me to get anything done without them here to have an input. I found myself doing a rather lot of work based on this alongside another team member as we were always in. When it came to filming we struggled as every member of the team had to be in to film so when members were off we couldn’t film. There wasn’t in particular a certain manager to the team we were only following the brief set and if there were any changes they would be down to the opinions of the client. As a team we worked together well in my opinion but if I were to do the project again I would prefer to do the entire product on my own as I think my time flow would improve and I would be able to film and produce the video all in my own time.

Product

The product itself worked out better than expected. When it came to creating the products we all went individually instead of being in a group. This meant that we could work at our own pace and all create the product to our own satisfaction. My product was a great success to me and I was very pleased with the overall outcome. There were a few blips along the way of creating as I have mentioned because of filming etc. but these were all sorted. I wanted to make a slideshow of images as part of my product. I had no idea when it came to making one on how to do it etc. but with the program open I did a bit of research online to see how others had done it. I then was able to create the slideshow that I wanted so this was a particular feature that I enjoyed and was proud about. When it came to filming also I put my interviews onto the computer and managed to boost the sound on each interview to make them sufficient enough to hear when the video is played. I also added text onto the video when the interviews were being played as I wanted to highlight the key part to what they were saying. I stuck well to the mood boards I had produced and used all the colours that I said I would. I also used all the clips that I said I would in my shot log so that also corresponded well to my finished piece. When it came to colours and the college logo I had the logo based in the bottom right hand corner of the video at all times from start to finish. I then also had the college colours running through with my text I either had blue or green colour on the text as the video ran through.

Overall I am very pleased with the product that I created and the overall management that was carried out on the video and the preparation. There were a few major improvements that I would like to improve if I were to do this again but didn’t have the time this time round.